Ch.29Secret – 2

Kartina entered the basement, deliberately ignoring Serena’s terrifying gaze as she stood guard beside the steel door.

Perhaps because it was originally a place where monster corpses were temporarily stored before being moved elsewhere, a faint but terrible smell lingered despite the interior being completely empty.

Then she froze. Empty interior? No matter how much she looked around, turning her head from side to side, there was nothing but the bare grid walls and partitions that once held monster corpses.

When Serena closed the door, the heavy metallic sound made Kartina’s heart sink.

“Um, First Knight Commander.”

“What is it?”

Serena’s voice was as impassive as usual, but to Kartina, it sounded utterly terrifying. It felt like that world-splitting scene was about to unfold behind her again.

Trying to steady her involuntarily trembling neck, Kartina continued.

“There… seems to be nothing here.”

“Why?”

Yes, why indeed? Kartina wanted to cry.

When asked like that, she had no answer to give. She had been unconscious for a full day, and when she woke up, the city was devastated. She had been cowering in a half-destroyed mansion, and had only ventured outside mere tens of minutes ago.

How was she supposed to know why this place was empty?

“I, I don’t really…”

In the end, Kartina attempted a feeble excuse.

Or rather, she tried to.

Just as she was about to say “I don’t know,” a chilling pressure filled the basement. It was so overwhelming that it nearly suffocated her.

The words that couldn’t escape her mouth dissipated in her throat, and her limbs trembled violently like those of a patient with severe palsy.

She had never regretted her past self more—the one who had lightly accepted Serena’s offer to accompany her.

She should have refused back then. Even if it would have been rude, she should have somehow declined that offer and followed Elliot instead. Regret washed over her like a tidal wave.

Tears welled up in her terror-stricken eyes. They pooled precariously, ready to spill at the slightest touch.

She truly didn’t know. She wanted desperately to plead her innocence, but her mouth simply wouldn’t move. The sound of steady footsteps moved toward Kartina, who was crushed under the pressure.

The brilliant golden hair tied in a ponytail brushed past Kartina’s side and stopped directly in front of her.

Then the toes turned, followed by the calves, thighs, pelvis, waist, chest, shoulders, and finally the neck and head all rotated to face Kartina.

At that mechanical face, Kartina’s legs gave way, and she collapsed to the floor with a thud. The tears that had been welling up could no longer be contained and streamed down her cheeks.

Kartina placed her hands on the ground. Her mind was filled with only one thought: she needed to escape somehow.

She tried to push herself away with her hands, but her body, frozen with fear, simply wouldn’t move as she wanted.

The distance Kartina managed to create with all her might was erased when Serena took just one step forward.

If she had turned her body and crawled away on all fours instead of flailing her arms and legs while sitting on the floor, she might have moved faster.

But Kartina didn’t have the courage to take her eyes off the Royal Knight Commander before her. The fear that she had no idea what this person might do if she looked away had completely consumed her mind.

If her hair was grabbed from behind while crawling away, she was certain she would roll her eyes back, foam at the mouth, and go mad on the spot.

“Hii, hiiiek…!”

A scream involuntarily escaped when Serena’s gaze met Kartina’s directly. She wished she could just faint.

Whatever happened afterward, waking up after fainting seemed preferable to this moment. But the thick pressure permeating the basement wouldn’t allow it.

Kartina remembered seeing eyes like these before.

Once, when adventurers distributing hallucinogenic drugs in the city were caught, Elliot had looked at those humans with eyes just like these.

It was the look one gives to garbage not worth keeping alive. Indeed, after filing a brief report, he had them executed.

But why on earth was the Royal First Knight Commander giving her that exact same look?

“Kartina.”

Serena briefly uttered the name of the woman trembling on the floor. A hiccupping sound escaped through Kartina’s tightly closed lips.

Serena took one step forward. The sound of her sabatons, made of metal and leather, hitting the wooden floor echoed throughout the basement.

Kartina tried with all her might to back away, but crushed by the mana continuously overflowing from Serena’s body, she soon wobbled and collapsed sideways with a thud.

Her orange hair scattered across the floor, stained with all sorts of marks.

Choking sobs could be heard. Kartina was crying. She was out of her mind with terror, feeling as if she would be pounced on at any moment.

“There’s something you still haven’t realized.”

The voice was getting closer. Serena bent down and grabbed Kartina’s neck. A choking sound immediately followed.

Slender fingers repeatedly pounded at the hand and wrist gripping her neck. Of course, Serena’s hand didn’t budge at all.

In that state, she slowly raised her arm. Kartina’s legs rose into the air, and her hands pounding on Serena’s wrist moved faster and faster.

Her legs thrashed in all directions, expressing their owner’s desperation.

“Why did you speak so cheerfully with my lord?”

Serena deliberately emphasized the word “my.”

This damn woman needed to realize it quickly. Her lord was not someone these worthless humans could casually speak to.

And especially not if they were female.

Serena bent her elbow, pulling Kartina closer. Then she quietly observed the woman who was desperately gasping for air, unable to resist.

If she applied just a little, just a tiny bit more pressure, this woman’s neck would snap like a twig. Her hands and feet would go limp, and soon her entire body would grow cold.

But that would kill her too quickly. Serena recalled this wretched woman conversing with her lord.

As her insides boiled with rage, her expression grew increasingly cold. Breaking her neck would be too merciful a gift.

Perhaps she should gouge out her eyes. So that her lord would never again be reflected in those abominable pupils. Serena gently traced Kartina’s eye with her thumb.

Just as she had once done to her lord, she only needed to press firmly on the eyeball with her thumb.

Then the cornea would tear, the lens would shatter, and the vitreous humor would flow out, smearing her face.

Pulling out all her teeth didn’t seem like a bad choice either. Serena used her free hand to part Kartina’s lips and wedged her fingers between her front teeth.

Even while choking, Kartina desperately shook her head. She seemed to have guessed what Serena intended to do.

Or she could rip out her tongue. Without a tongue, she wouldn’t be able to exchange words with her lord anymore.

There would be no more unnecessary giggles and flirtatious behavior, no more flattery about how her lord was quite famous in this worthless place. Seeing that had made her stomach twist.

Yes, let’s start with the tongue.

Having made her decision, Serena was just about to forcefully open Kartina’s mouth, break her jaw, and rip out her tongue.

At that moment, a red magic circle appeared on Kartina’s forehead, and her body began to disintegrate into red powder, starting from the extremities.

Seeing this, Serena released her grip on the neck. It was some kind of teleportation spell.

Once activated, there was no point in physically holding her neck. It wasn’t impossible to break the spell with magical interference, but doing so would require blowing up the entire building.

Soon after, Kartina’s entire body crumbled into red particles and disappeared.

Even as she watched Kartina completely scatter into the air, Serena wasn’t surprised at all. It was to be expected.

Her lord had personally ordered her not to take her eyes off Kartina and those around her, so there was no reason for Serena to be surprised by whatever they did.

Her lord must have anticipated such actions and told her to remain suspicious.

No one is surprised to see a normal human breathe.

And to Serena, Kartina’s behavior was as natural and expected as a human breathing.